It started as a simple request from the National Archives — and ballooned into one of the worst legal threats facing former President Donald Trump.
Nearly 18 months after the twice-impeached president left office on Jan. 20, 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on Aug. 8, after numerous attempts were made to retrieve boxes on confidential and White House papers belonging to the National Archives.
Now, Trump faces a wide-ranging criminal probe involving potential violations of the Espionage Act and obstruction of justice. Although no charges have been filed, legal observers suspect a possible indictment is looming over the 45th president.
Here’s a look at key dates and actions in the saga:
— Jan. 20, 2021: Trump leaves the White House for his Florida estate at the end of his four-year term and refused to attend President Joe Biden’s inauguration, putting him in the same company as President John Adams, President John Quincy Adams and President Andrew Johnson (the first commander in chief to be impeached).
Instead of handing over all documents to the National Archives, Trump orders some shipped to his resort home at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.
— May 2021: The National Archives asks Trump to return documents that he took with him or kept when he left office, noting that “things can be very chaotic.”
— December 2021: After resisting the requests for months, Trump's lawyers agree to hand over documents, which they characterize as mementos, such as his “love letters” with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un.
— Jan. 17: The National Archives arrives at Mar-a-Lago to collect the documents, among them 15 boxes filled with top-secret classified documents and records, including the Kim letters and a handwritten letter President Barack Obama left for Trump when he assumed office.
Alarmed by what it found, the National Archives asks the FBI to examine the documents. Agents find 184 classified documents in that initial batch. A criminal probe is later opened into possible mishandling of classified material.
— May 11: Investigators discover that Trump had not handed over all remaining documents being held at Mar-a-Lago. They obtain a subpoena for the return of all remaining documents in his possession, and later one for security footage of the lightly guarded location.
— June 3: Prosecutors visit Mar-a-Lago to collect documents covered by the subpoena personally. Trump lawyers hand over some documents. They refuse to allow government officials to check boxes in the storage room for more classified documents.
One of Trump’s lawyers provides a written statement that no documents marked classified remained at Mar-a-Lago. That statement later turned out to be false.
— June 8: Prosecutors warn Trump’s team to enhance security at the basement storeroom, after which a padlock is placed on the door.
— June 8-22: The FBI interviews Trump’s “personal and household staff members.” One or more of the witnesses tells the feds that Trump was still hanging on to more documents.
— Aug. 5: Judge Bruce Reinhart grants the FBI’s request for a search warrant for some parts of Mar-a-Lago, including the storage room and Trump’s office. It’s the first time such a search has been ordered for a former president’s home.
— Aug. 8: The FBI executes a search warrant while Trump’s attorneys were watching, collecting many more boxes stuffed with documents. The feds tried to keep the search low key, but Trump reveals the search on social media, denouncing it as a part of a partisan witch hunt.
— Aug. 11: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland agrees to allow the release of the search warrant showing details of what agents were looking for and an inventory of what was taken.
The search turned up more than 100 confidential documents in 13 boxes or containers with classification markings, including some at the most restrictive levels. At least three such documents were found in the former president’s desk, prosecutors say.
— Aug 22: Trump’s lawyers ask U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon to appoint a special master to comb through the seized documents to separate any that might be covered by attorney-client or executive privilege. Prosecutors say a filter team of lawyers has already found a small number of items potentially covered by privilege.
— Aug. 26: Judge Reinhart orders the release of a heavily redacted affidavit from an FBI special agent that convinced him to grant the search warrant. Much of it is blacked out, but the portions that are not shed more light on the documents used to obtain the search warrant.
— Aug. 30: The Department of Justice says that “government records were likely concealed and removed” at Mar-a-Lago, significantly ramping up the legal peril for Trump. It also objects to Trump’s demand for a special master, noting that he waited too long to file and should have approached Reinhart.
— Aug. 31: DOJ is reportedly likely to wait until after the midterm elections on Nov. 8 to announce any possible charges against Trump, according to Bloomberg News.
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